Punching In: Long Slog for One Labor Nominee Could Be Near End

Monday morning musings for workplace watchers.

Nom in Waiting | China Bill Pending

Paige Smith: Key leadership positions at the US Department of Labor are … still vacant. A common theme at the beginning of a new administration? Perhaps. But substantively, it means that President Joe Biden doesn’t have his ideal pro-worker team moving forward with his best interests in mind in a permanent, confirmed capacity on a day-to-day basis.

At least one of those roles could be filled this week with the Senate back in session. The upper chamber May 25 approved limiting debate on Lisa Gomez’s nomination to lead the Employee Benefits Security Administration, leaving a final confirmation vote as the final hurdle to be cleared.

Gomez’s road to EBSA is a textbook case illustrating the protracted slog nominees face between the moment they’re nominated and a final confirmation vote. First nominated last July, Gomez, a longtime employee benefits attorney at Cohen, Weiss and Simon LLP, has gone through two Senate labor panel markups, one re-nomination, and over a year of waiting time.

Gomez declined to comment on the timeline of events.

While her confirmation may at least be within reach, the same can’t be said for the top role at the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division. The vote for David Weil, Biden’s original pick for the top wage regulator position, tanked on the Senate floor in March. Biden still hasn’t named who will instead step into the role permanently; Labor Secretary Marty Walsh told Bloomberg Law on May 17 that agency officials and the White House are still figuring out next steps.

Employers, workers, unions, retirement plan administrators, and anyone clued in to workplace policy are looking to the Labor Department for direction. But for now, it looks like they’re just going to have to keep waiting.

READ MORE:

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• Biden Faces Decision to Re-Up Wage-Hour, Employee Benefits Picks

Labor Secretary Marty Walsh speaks during a roundtable with federal workers in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Oct. 20, 2021.

Photographer: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg

Paige Smith: A sweeping bill focused on boosting US competitiveness with China includes a handful of labor-friendly provisions, such as prevailing wage requirements for construction projects receiving funding through the bill’s proposed grant programs for semiconductor development, microelectronics research, and solar component manufacturing, among other provisions.

The multibillion-dollar bill (H.R. 4521) must get approval from both the House and Senate, thus the ongoing debates over what will end up on the cutting room floor during this time of high inflation. As congressional negotiations on a final package grind on, we’re closely watching what happens to those labor items.

For now, though, those provisions are still a part of the House-passed bill, according to a senior Republican aide familiar with the negotiations.

How long they’ll last, however, is the question. Republicans and employer groups oppose many of the provisions, and the talks about what’s in and what’s out are continuing.

We’re punching out. Daily Labor Report subscribers, please check in for updates during the week, and feel free to reach out to us.